Sometimes the very best thing to do in "sales" is to be unconventional. Our friends at RAC, adapting an article from Shamus Brown, share some very interesting perspectives about how people want to be "sold."
One of the worst mistakes you can make when selling is to assume that you should sell to someone else the way you would want to be sold to. I know, I am turning the Golden Rule on its head here, but here's why. The Golden Rule is a good one for how to treat your coworkers, your neighbors, new people you've just met, etc. It is a good way to go through life. It was invented for making friends. It was not invented for making more sales.
Getting along with people IS an important part of selling. But "making friends" is not your ultimate goal in selling; it's only important in the introduction stage of the buying/selling process. So a rule that is focused on making friends, may not help you make more sales. In fact, it could hurt you.
It could hurt you because when you interpret the Golden Rule of "Do unto others, as you would have done unto yourself" to mean things like..."Don't ask me about money." Or "Don't ask me personal questions." Or, "Don't ask me about my career goals and office politics."...then you have automatically put most of the raw fuel that drives each and every sale off-limits from discussion.
Instead, what you need to do is get people to open up. Ask them questions to get them emotional. Real emotional. You want to get them to talk about a problem. And tell you everything that's wrong. Why things are horrible. What might happen if they don't do something about it. And you have to get them to admit that this is something important to them. Something worth doing something about. Something that matters. Then and only then can you sell.
Because then you have found...no you have uncovered...no you have created...a motivated prospect.
One who can and will buy if you show him how to solve his pain that he suddenly realizes he must do something about. All buying decisions happen in an instant. In a moment. And then they are rationalized and justified with logic. Selling is simple and easy then if you know how to quickly take someone to that place where they get emotional enough to decide.
Otherwise, you are leaving things to chance.
If you want to know more about the science of selling from an emotional perspective, I invite you to read the book, 7 Triggers to Yes. You'll learn a great deal about brain function and how powerful the Amygdala portion of our brain is during decision-making.
Have a Great Week!
Jerry
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